BRENHAM, Texas – The Blinn Buccaneers captured their program-record 24th win of the season Saturday night at the Blinn P.E. Building. Now they’re just looking for a few more at the Region XIV Tournament next week.

The Buccaneers defeated Lee College 76-68 to conclude the regular season thanks to a strong second half that saw Blinn’s defense hold the Rebels to just 24 points after halftime.

“I told the guys it’s about defense and rebounding and effort, and certain guys stepped up,” Blinn coach Tra Arnold said.

Blinn trailed 20-7 early in the game and was down 42-41 at halftime. But the Buccaneers got hot midway through the second half. Shamel Williams converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Bucs their first lead, 55-54, and just a few moments later Titus Rubles was fouled as he threw down a fast-break dunk. He made the free throw to extend the lead to four with 11:20 left.

Three minutes later, Rubles was fouled while making another bucket and made the ensuing free throw. Rubles finished with 17 points.
Sophomore forward Joel Wright scored a game-high 23 points, including 11-of-15 free throw shooting, while Williams scored nine of his 13 points in the second half.

“He’s one of those energy guys,” Arnold said of Williams. “He gets energy buckets and we needed that desperately today because we were flat in the early going.”

Dre Evans added another 12 for the Bucs, while Vincent Garrett led Lee with 20 points.

The win marked the most in a single season by a Blinn men’s basketball team. The Bucs went 24-6 in the regular season and 14-5 in conference.

“It’s good for our program, but the bottom line is that season’s over,” Arnold said. “Everyone’s 0-0 now. We’re going to have to play better to advance in the regional tournament.”

The Region XIV Tournament seedings will be announced at www.region14hoops.com. The tournament will be played March 7-11 in Tyler.

For more information on Blinn men’s basketball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.